Stranger Like Me
by MatveyJeevas
Summary: Amazed by what seems to be a falling star in broad daylight, ten-year-old Princess Elsa of Arendelle sets out to climb to the top of a mountain to discover someone who will change her life forever. Threeshot, kinda cute.
1. Opposite Shore

Princess Elsa of Arendelle lay under her huge purple blanket, trying to keep warm and prevent any bursts of excitement, or joy, or anger, or… anything.

Lately, she'd grown weary of this power. Elsa was born with the ability—the _curse_—to control ice and snow, to create _cold_. And that wasn't exactly something every little girl wants. About a year ago she'd hurt her younger sister, Anna. A strand of Anna's hair turned white because of Elsa's magic.

And now she couldn't share her magic anymore. That was the only thing she had liked about it, and now she couldn't share her magic anymore.

Elsa gripped the blanket tighter so that she could suppress the sad feelings swirling inside of her head. It was late—very dark, and very cold out, though winter was ending soon. She poked her head out of the blanket, but it was just as dark in her room as it was _in_ the blanket, concealed.

_Conceal, don't feel._

Papa had taught her to say that. _Conceal, don't feel_. Elsa sort of… _idolized_ her father. She loved him and her mother dearly; they locked the gates of the castle to protect her and Anna, until Elsa could control her magic. She hoped she could control it soon. Would she take lessons? That hope had been dwindling—after an entire year of concealing, would her parents ever get a teacher? A wizard? Someone experienced in the field of magic, someone who could tell her how to stop hurting people?

Outside it began to rain. Elsa jumped out of her bed and rushed to the window to watch the arrival of spring. Water poured down from the sky, making patterns in the old snow. She stared at it for a few seconds before touching the window slightly—

Then, all of a sudden, the rain turned to snow. Elsa squeaked a little bit and jumped back, then slapped her hand over her mouth. Any more noise and she would wake Anna!

Wait. She didn't share a room with Anna anymore.

Elsa let her hand drop from her face. She looked down at the floor, and then crawled back into bed. Her pillow was soaked with salty tears by the time she fell asleep, and it was frozen solid a minute later.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

"Elsa! Elsa! Elsa!"

The familiar childish voice intruded on Elsa's dreams. She awoke blinking heavily, her room appearing fuzzy at first. Her eyes turned toward the door.

"Elsa! Elsa! It snowed! Haha! Papa said it _wouldn't_ snow again, and it _did_ snow though! Isn't that so cool?"

Elsa groaned. She slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the door.

"Elsa? Are you in there?"

"Go away," she whispered hopefully.

"Elsa, come on! Don't you want to build a big giant snowman outside? I'm sure Papa will open the gates just this once. Come on! We can give it a big warm hug."

"Go away, Anna," Elsa said louder. There was a pause; Anna had heard.

"E-Elsa?"

"Go away!"

She heard a little gasp outside the door. Anna didn't say anything after that.

Elsa dressed herself in a small blue gown, glad that her parents had asked the servants to stop dressing her. _I can do it by myself_, she'd told them. _I don't want them to… see me_. No one knew, no one except Elsa and her parents and the trolls in the forest. And it would stay that way forever. Once Elsa could control her powers, she had no reason to hide from the world.

As Elsa brushed her long blond hair, she looked out the window at the fresh snow on the ground. What if it ruined something? Like crops? She felt her stomach twist. That couldn't be true; why would they begin to plant crops before the threat of winter died? She needn't worry about the food supply. She was ten years old, but that didn't mean she would become queen any time soon. More than double her age away until that sort of responsibility was thrust upon her!

Elsa's mind wandered to how adulthood would be. Would she marry someone and stay in Arendelle? Would she marry someone and move to another kingdom, far, far away? Would she not marry at all? Would she become the queen and then have little nieces and nephews from Anna for the next in line to the throne?

Elsa giggled. She told herself that was very far in the future. There was no reason to think about that now: boys were still gross right now. That is… if she'd seen any boys lately. If she'd seen _anybody_ lately. With the gates closed, the only child nearby was Anna.

She didn't want to hurt Anna again.

The wind began to blow unreasonably fast and Elsa put down her hairbrush. She tentatively went to the window and looked into the sky, squinting. It looked like there was something _flying_. In the sky. Flying!

As she made her way across the room, she braided her hair, without even looking in the mirror. A ribbon had already found its way around her wrist, so she tied it up before opening the door and running down the hall. Anna had been sitting outside the room waiting for this.

"Elsa! You came out! Let's go—" But she was already gone. A little snowflake fluttered down next to Anna, and she looked at it with a puzzled expression.

Meanwhile, Elsa zoomed down the hall and left little tracks of snow on the floor where she went. They quickly melted and no one saw, but it was enough to send any Duke of Weasle-town squinting at the carpet with a magnifying glass.

"Papa—" Elsa began, but quickly stopped herself. Why ask permission? He was sure to say no. Elsa ran down the stairs two at a time and grabbed her little clock before squeezing outside the castle gates. She found her horse and pet it, grinning. The brisk air was nice, like drinking a cup of water after hours of thirst. She mounted the horse and reached into a small bag on its back, pulling out a carrot. It ate it happily.

Three years of horse-riding classes reflected brightly off of Elsa's pleased smile as they galloped through the kingdom, getting closer and closer to the frozen lake. She inhaled deeply as they passed a warm bakery, but there was no stopping in this journey. She couldn't afford to see _people_. What would they think of this ten-year-old riding through the town to see something mysterious on the top of the mountain?

"Come on, Markus, you can go faster than that," Elsa said to the horse. He whinnied and accepted her challenge—but the little girl found that his fastest was indeed _too_ fast and _quite_ terrifying. "Okay—slow, just a little—"

They got to the docks and had a perfect view of the mountain. Elsa looked up into the sky. She could see something… going up… and down… like a person jumping high, and then falling back down. She was briefly reminded of Anna's fall, but swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to forget. _Conceal, don't feel_.

Elsa dropped from Markus and brought his rein to a post. It creaked from side to side, but Markus was a good horse and wouldn't try to pull it from the ground. Since she had her cloak on, nobody would recognize her. Elsa's apprehension turned into excitement, and she pulled three golden coins from her pocket.

The ferryman was loading his boat full of goods. Elsa looked down at her coins and then looked at a little two-person canoe floating on the surface of the lake, which wasn't frozen solid but rather had a very, very thin layer of ice with a blanket of slush weighing it down.

"Excuse me," Elsa said, voice trembling. She got closer to the ferryman but didn't take down her hood.

He put down a crate full of netting and turned around to look at her—she was shorter than he'd originally thought. "Hello there, young lady," he said, smiling. "What can I do you for?"

Elsa's head dropped, eyes glued to the wooden dock. The coins were ice cold in her hands, frosting up a little. She looked back up, making sure to keep her face hidden beneath the hood. "I'd like to—borrow your canoe, please." She was trying to sound older, maybe just a _little_ older.

The ferryman raised his eyebrows. "Borrow?" he asked suspiciously.

She pulled her sleeve over her fingers and held the coins out to him so that they only touched the cloth. "Yes." He accepted the coins and winced when they reached his palm, having not expected them to be so cold. After he slipped them into his pocket, he held up one finger and went into his boat to bring something out.

He gave her a waterproof blanket and a small blade, explaining that it was important because the mountains were dangerous. "You'll bring them back, of course," he said, "When you bring the canoe back. Got it?" Elsa nodded and took out another golden coin from her pocket. The man almost protested, but the glint of sunlight on the shiny metal made him close his mouth and take the coin from her. He helped her into the canoe and said that the horse would be okay for many hours, but he'd put a blanket on him just in case.

"Thank you," Elsa said quietly. "And please don't tell anyone where I've gone. I promise I'll come back."

He looked uneasy at this request, but agreed anyway. Elsa began to paddle away and the ferryman turned around to continue loading his boat.

As she floated across the river, the thin ice crackled and chipped away as if it wasn't even there. She watched over the side for a little while at the ripples and waves pouring over an invisible sheet; it was like watching art. Elsa dipped her hand into the cool water and grinned at the tickling sensation of the frost. She made it to the other side of the lake without even noticing, but when she did notice, she pulled the canoe onto the bank with a lot of effort. Okay, maybe she used her powers a little bit, but it was _heavy. _

When the wood was all up in the snow instead of the water, Elsa took the knife from the floor of the canoe and put it into her pocket. Who knew what was up here? It could be dangerous. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. She realized with a sudden jab that this was _so against the rules_. Her father would be so angry when she got home, if he noticed that she'd left. Left the castle. Gone in _public_. _Talked_ to people. Paddled across the entire _lake_.

And, now she was _climbing mountains_ and every rock she touched that didn't already have snow was left with a snowflake-patterned coat of ice. It was fun to go through the snow as freely as she pleased, and Elsa wondered why she hadn't done this months and months ago. It was liberating, and the solitude, vastness, and privacy created a perfect spot to practice magic. The two coins that remained in her pocket clinked and clanked and jingled and jangled as she trekked through the snow. Money didn't seem very important up here, but she'd learned from a young age to always carry a little, just in case. Not that that really mattered much anymore, since she and Anna were locked inside the castle all day and night. Elsa absently wondered what Anna was doing right now. Probably running around the ballroom. She giggled.

Poor Anna. All she wanted to do was play. But Elsa had no way of keeping her safe, since she couldn't control herself. A repeat of last year's accident would be a disaster. Elsa had kept telling herself that it was _okay_ to let Anna in the room just to talk or play with toys, but right as she had been considering it, her powers had spurted out of control and created a little flurry in her bedroom. Ever since that day she had a lot of little mishaps, frosting the windowsill and blankets and doorknobs. It was too dangerous to let Anna in. If Anna saw her powers, she wouldn't be able to shut up about them. She'd get herself hurt. It wasn't safe.

Cold wind shifted tall, tall trees and made snow fall in large clumps from the tallest branches. Elsa stared, wide-eyed, as the unnatural wind pattern caused trees to moan into each other. She tried to look closer, to see what was causing those weird winds. But nothing… nothing. Maybe it really _was_ just her imagination. Despite this thought, Elsa persevered. There had to be something. There just _had_ to be.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

"Come on, wind, faster! Pick up the pace, let's go, let's go, I wanna see the kingdom from the tallest tree."

Jack Frost laughed merrily as he flew incredibly fast up into the air. Even though he was probably going faster than usual, to him it wasn't quick enough. The wind groaned as it pulled him higher up in the atmosphere, but he wasn't high enough yet. Surely they had already passed the tallest tree on the mountain, but it wasn't high enough to see the kingdom properly—or rather, what Jack referred to as properly.

"Man, oh, man! This is great!" Jack shouted. He landed on a tree, making it bend down low and then pop back up. But he held on tight and didn't fling off of it. He giggled into the branch and then sat down, panting heavily. The cold air nipped at his nose deliciously. Beyond the seldom leaves and thick trees, he could see the kingdom of Arendelle glitter prettily with white snow. This was the third kingdom he'd been to this month, along with a place called Corona and DunBroch. They were all so different, but all so beautiful. Corona was surrounded by a large lake and dense forests, and was decorated with purple flags centered with a flower that looked like the sun. When Jack flew through the snowy forest, he saw a little yellow flower that had a little bit of a glow to it, and the snow around it was melted. He stared at it for a couple of seconds, and then decided that Bunnymund would be interested in it. Come to think of it, he hadn't mentioned the flower to the rabbit. Then again, he didn't really have a good relationship with the Easter bunny. In Jack's forty-three years of life, Bunnymund hadn't really been a warm and friendly person.

The second kingdom, DunBroch, was a snowy wonderland that was, from what Jack could see, mostly rocks. Distant mountains glowed magnificently during the sunrise and sunset, outlining the miles and miles of grassy rocks and interspersed forests between them and the kingdom. When he entered the forests, there were tiny little blue creatures that could see him. They weren't people, but they were company. There was magic in every corner of the world if you looked close enough. Jack usually sat atop tall cobbled towers to observe the castles. He stayed in DunBroch for a while listening to the peoples' funny dialects, and there was four times as much to see because there were four different clans to observe. Arendelle, however, wasn't very big, yet it glistened with a certain kind of magic that Jack could feel from his bare feet to his pink nose.

Jack wiggled his toes and stretched out his legs. It wasn't much farther to the top of the mountain. He raised his arms high above his head, let out a big yawn, and then jumped off of the branch to fly up higher. By the time he reached a good look-out spot, the sun was caressing the middle of the other mountains to signify that morning was just starting to get into action. He saw waves of people, black little spots on the white ground in the town. The trees seemed to go on forever. Jack laid his staff down next to him and sat with his legs crossed, taking in the view. He grinned and raised one hand, shooting out a little burst of snow above his head. It fell down slowly, and right now, everything was okay.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

a/n: This was going to be a twoshot, but this beginning ended up being ridiculously long. I don't know how to write short things. Will have three chapters.

Also: watch?v=Zvh215x67Aw


	2. Stranger Like Me

Jack gently scooped up some snow and threw it off the cliff, looking down to see it flutter far away. He smiled slightly and got on his hands and knees to gaze down at the treetops below. They sparkled and looked fluffy. Just as Jack was leaning back he spotted something dark move in an opening between the branches. His mouth popped open and he did a double take.

Jack grabbed his staff and jumped down to a tall tree branch, making snow plop down in front of the cloaked person under him. He watched as they jolted back, looking down at the pile first and then up at the tree where Jack sat with his blue sweatshirt and large staff.

He laughed and floated down next to the person, but his smile disappeared when he realized that the cloaked figure was only a little girl. He stared at her for a couple of seconds and then said to himself, very quietly, "I have to bring her home."

"What?" she asked.

Jack frowned. Was she talking to herself?

The girl looked right at Jack, an act which struck him as strange—a good strange. He gave her a dubious look. "Who are you?" she said, returning the perplexed stare. After all, he'd just jumped out of a tree.

Jack found himself unable to speak. So, what, could she—could _she_ see him? He didn't answer, but just kind of stared at her.

"Who are you?" the girl said again. "What are you doing here? Did you just fall from the sky?"

They had something of a staring contest. When he didn't reply, she rolled her eyes dramatically and began to walk off. Jack quickly grabbed her arm, and his fingers didn't go through her cloak. What was going on? Was this random girl, this little child, the only person in the whole wide world who could see him?

"Can you see me?" Jack asked tentatively as she turned around. The girl rolled her eyes again.

"Of course I can see you."

Jack swallowed. He had to act like—like this was _normal_. Like she wasn't the first human to see him. Like he was used talking to people instead of to himself. But he hesitated too long, and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Are you a ghost?" she asked, voice fearful.

"N-No! No, I'm not a ghost," Jack replied quickly. "I'm not a ghost. I'm Jack. Jack… Frost."

The girl held her hand out for a second, but then recoiled back as if she was afraid to touch him. Jack frowned, and took a small step toward her. "What's wrong?" he said gently.

"Nothing," she answered quickly, an obvious lie.

"Come on," Jack laughed. "What's wrong? What's your name?"

"Where are you from?" the girl asked, avoiding his question.

"I'm from America," he said, frowning. Jack pushed his staff into the ground and ice formed at the bottom of it. He leaned against it, looking at her all the time. "Are you from the kingdom Arendelle?"

She nodded, hand on her hood to keep it down. "I am. Have you been there?"

"Not yet. I've been visiting many kingdoms, but I haven't traveled down to Arendelle yet."

Hesitantly, she pulled the hood off and Jack saw a little smile on her tiny face. She had big blue eyes and hair that was yellow, but almost white like his. Jack knelt down a little bit, taking his staff out of the ground. He cocked his head at her, and asked her again what her name was.

"I'm… Elsa."

Jack held his hand out to her. She looked at it with an uncertain expression. Jack laughed, and moved it closer to her as an emphasis. "It's nothing to be afraid of, Elsa. It's just my hand."

He said it calmly, but the truth was Jack had never held anyone's hand before. He stretched his fingers out hopefully, waiting for the unfamiliar feeling of another person's gentle touch. Elsa pulled her sleeve down a little bit, and began to reach out, but she stopped when she saw Jack's feet, and squealed.

"Your feet!" she exclaimed.

Jack's hand dropped disappointedly. "My… feet?" he asked, looking down at them. Snow squashed between his toes like grass. This was normal to him, but he suddenly realized that people wore shoes. Not always, but skin against snow was supposed to be cold and uncomfortable. Jack laughed and scratched his head awkwardly. "Oh, well, I'm not really… uhh…"

"Doesn't the cold bother you?"

Jack shook his head. "N-no, not at all. Are you cold?" He had no way of creating warmth to give her, but donning the hood again may prove helpful. He could also ask the wind to stay a little bit away from her, but out of politeness Jack usually avoided people when he flew from place to place.

"I'm not," she replied. "But you should get some shoes."

"Why are you out here?" He didn't want to talk about his feet anymore, and he began walking forward to blur them. She followed him higher up the mountain.

"Something fell from the sky, and I wanted to see it. Did you see?"

Jack frowned, and he shrugged his shoulders. How, _how_ had she seen? "I think that… might have been me," he said.

"You? _You_ fell from the sky?"

He turned around and started walking backwards to look at her. "Yeah, probably. I can fly."

Elsa's jaw dropped and she halted. Jack laughed nervously and shrugged again, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. She just stared at him.

There was a long stretch of silence. Not even animals rustled the forest.

"You can _fly_?" Elsa finally asked, breaking the silence. Jack nodded, and he gripped his staff tightly, raising it. She staggered backwards, fearful that it might hurt her, but he snickered.

"Aw, come on, it's not scary. Everyone knows that magic exists. Don't you believe in magic?" His voice took on a different tone with that last question, and he leaned forward, tilting the staff every so slightly to her nose. Elsa's wide eyes took in the dark brown wood just before it turned into a frosty blue. She gasped.

Not only did the wood encase itself in a small frost, but just then the trees rustled with wind and sent snow sprinkling from strong branches and blowing at her back. A pleasant nip of cold bit at Elsa's nose, and she flinched from it, giggling. Jack gave her a blinding smile, teeth white as snow. Elsa returned the smile. The snow blew about in tiny gusts of glee, as if it was dancing.

All of a sudden, it stopped. Jack had put down the staff and sat down in the snow, looking up at her through his white bangs. "Well?" Jack prompted.

Elsa's eyes wandered from one tree to the next, completely dazzled by his display of magic. She glanced up at the cloudless sky, and at the snow covering her boots. Everything he'd done was so beautiful, and so perfect and she could just _cry_ thinking about how she wasn't alone in this curse, this heavy power over the cold. Jack smiled up at her but Elsa could not move; his magic did not frighten her, as her own did. No, his magic gave her something—something wonderful, something glorious. It gave her hope. Hope that maybe one day, she could be comfortable with what her hands wrought. Jack seemed to be so in control of what he did; was it the staff that helped him? Was it his bare feet? Elsa had half the mind to take her boots off, but he interrupted her thoughts by poking her with the staff.

"Well?" he repeated, somewhat fazed by her silence.

Elsa blinked back into reality and slowly sat down next to him in the snow. "J-Jack," she began unsteady, looking at his big bright smile. "Jack, I didn't know that anyone…"

"Didn't know anyone could do that?" he said confidently, starting to move again. "Well, check this out!"

But before he could do anything, Elsa raised her hand and ice shot out at the trees and into the forest. A sharp icicle hit a tree and burrowed into the bark, vibrating as they watched. She looked back at him with a sly little smile, and he returned a similar grin.

"Wow," he said, "Wow."

Elsa cupped her hands and dipped them into the snow. She picked some up and held it out to him. "I made it snow last night."

"_You_ made it snow?"

"Yeah," Elsa said, holding back the full story. She'd never talked extensively about her powers with anyone ever before, but maybe—maybe this was different. Because they both had this power, this… _talent_. Jack was trustworthy; Jack would never tell anyone that she could control ice, because he could control ice. And he could fly! He was even more of a freak than—

"How'd you make it snow?"

Elsa's eyebrows furrowed. "I… touched my windowsill."

"That made it snow?"

Elsa gave him a thoughtful look. She stared at him, one, two, three long seconds. And then, she had to talk, she had to tell, because the gift of ice and snow were actually marvelous and being able to share it with someone who would understand was the most liberating thing Elsa could do. That person used to be Anna. And now…

"Jack," Elsa began, "I touched the windowsill and my hands froze the rain. It started to snow, and I thought that was bad, but it's okay. I'm actually… _glad_. I like the winter."

Meanwhile, Jack's view on this child could not be called normal. He'd only seen her do a little magic, but she must have been the source of that power he'd felt, the different one than the other two kingdoms. Together, they could be a perfect team—though she _was_ a little young. He squinted at her facial expressions to better understand how she was feeling. Jack never was good at reading faces or realizing emotions. Sometimes he created snowstorms without checking to see if a town or village would welcome it, and on occasion froze something inconvenient for almost everyone around except himself. Jack had control of his power but he didn't have control of his impulses; quite the opposite of Elsa.

"I love the winter," Jack said. In fact, he didn't love anything but the winter. He felt weak in heat, and even temperatures as low as forty degrees Fahrenheit were uncomfortable and perhaps painful. Part of the reason he traveled to many different kingdoms was to avoid summer and all the other seasons; it was rather convenient to fly in a world with ever-changing climates.

"I love all the seasons," Elsa replied somewhat dejectedly.

"What's wrong?"

Elsa shrugged her shoulders. She wrung her hands together and looked up at Jack, biting her lip. "Jack? Can I tell you something?" she asked, clearly uncomfortable.

"Uh—yeah, sure," Jack said.

"A couple of years ago… when I was little, I played with my sister all the time…"

Jack listened attentively to her story, wincing at the appropriate moments and grimacing too. There were, however, some good parts; little scenes of Elsa being happy and comfortable with her powers over the frigidness. As she spoke her mouth was mostly frowning and painful, but every once in a while it twitched with a smile, and when she explained the accident with Anna, Jack had no idea how to comfort her. It only got worse from there, with her father's decision to lock her away.

Somehow, Jack could not pity her entirely. Maybe it was due to his desire for recognition, while she so carefully avoided attention at all cost. Maybe her quiet, somewhat reserved manner was too unlike his to strike a cord. But he did try to understand how it felt to be locked away from the world, with only a bedroom as comfort. Perhaps the fun he experienced made up for the bitter isolation he'd felt since day one.

"Elsa," Jack said when she'd finished explaining her situation. "Elsa, you have a gift."

"It's a curse," she retaliated.

"No," Jack said firmly. "No, no it's not a curse. Your father doesn't know everything. You can control your powers, you only need to practice."

"But he told me that _if_ I hurt someone—"

"That's impossible!" he interjected. "You couldn't hurt someone again, not after what happened with your sister. You're going to be very, very careful."

About fifteen or twenty years ago, Jack had had a similar accident. He was only exploring a frozen lake, but a man had fallen into the water and Jack watched helplessly as he froze and died in the water, floating with a brown-backed shirt exposed to the sky. When Jack tried to help about thirty seconds after he discovered the man, he only made it worse. By freezing the water to hoist him out, the temperature only dropped and killed him faster. Jack's was more extreme. But that didn't matter. Elsa was still just a little girl, someone young and careless and he was just trying to make her feel better.

"I can't be careful!" Elsa cried out. "I can't be careful with my powers, so I have to be careful to _contain_ my powers!"

Her face was turning red, and the ground was becoming ice. Jack's eyes widened as he looked down at the snow crackling and melting together, forming a crunchy and somewhat dangerous ground. "Elsa—"

"I have to conceal them! I can't, I can't feel because whenever I do feel there's no way to stop or change what I've done! I can't feel because feelings hurt people and—and I don't want to hurt people, but I feel so hurt when I can't… I can't—"

"Elsa!" Jack bellowed, jumping off the ground about a foot in the air. "Elsa, it's alright. Just calm down, I wasn't asking you to contain your feelings, I was asking you to—"

"I _have_ to!" Elsa screeched. "My powers are different than yours, Jack. You can use them and you know how but I never learned, I never even learned how to stop them when I do feel!"

Now she was standing, and beneath their feet the earth shook. Jack squeezed his staff and flew back a little bit. The wind started to circle around Elsa, and he fell back down since it was ignoring him. Jack floated to the ground and brushed the frostlings off his jacket. He stepped closer to Elsa, holding out an arm.

"Please, Elsa," he said, "You're okay. Please stop whatever you're doing!"

Elsa's bottom lip shook as her father's voice rang in her ears: "Elsa, what have you done? What happened to these blankets? Elsa! You can't eat that, it'll only freeze when you touch it. Elsa, control your feelings. Conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show!" She did not notice the commotion she was causing, nor did she hear Jack trying to help her. Tears welled up in her eyes and so, she supposed, the nightly crying would occur earlier today. And it had started out as such a good day.

The weather was wild. Jack had never caused a storm like this one: a mini swirl of anger and depression eating fir tree needles and making snowflakes gather in hair. He couldn't remember (if there was even something to remember) if he'd had his wintery powers when he was a little boy, but even if he did there was no way he'd ever do something like this. It was like a temper tantrum.

The air around them seemed to be getting dark as the wind swirled faster and faster. Elsa clenched her fists and stomped one foot on the ground, sending icicles in every direction. Jack narrowly missed being impaled by one of the sharp daggers. Intricate snowflakes spun past his nose and tickled the trees, white on white on white. If Elsa didn't calm down, Jack didn't know what she could do.

"Elsa," he said, flying through the storm as if it weren't even there. He floated down close to her. "Elsa, you have to stop right now or someone else could get hurt."

She hadn't noticed that her arms were raised above her head, almost like a statue of chaos. As Jack spoke to her, saying that her nightmares could become reality, something seemed to click and her arms slowly fell back down and Elsa rubbed her eyes, trying to see through the cloud of snow she had created. When her anger subsided, the storm seemed to stay suspended—not a scene in shambles, but rather a nice picture of a snowglobe. Jack raised his staff and the fog dissipated. Elsa staggered forward, nearly falling over, but he caught her.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently, brushing some loose hair from her dark blue eyes. Elsa groaned and nodded, accepting his help.

"I'm okay," she confirmed, shakily returning to her own feet and support. "And I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so upset." She smiled vaguely and tightened the braid absently, twirling a lock of hair with her index finger.

"It's no big deal," Jack said, gesturing for her to follow him on their little walk. She complied. "You just have to be careful."

Perhaps Jack was the one Elsa had been waiting for: a mentor, a guide, a wizard who would teach her how to use her powers for good. He seemed to be willing, and Elsa knew that the king would pay for such a service.

"Jack?" she said. "Will you teach me how to use ice?"

Jack gave her a funny look. "What do you mean, teach you how to use ice?"

Elsa was eager to learn, but she couldn't show too much enthusiasm to Jack. So she shrugged. "I, uh, you know, just I'm not very good at controlling my powers right now, and I thought that maybe you could help me and if you talked to my parents then maybe you could become my teacher or mentor or something?"

Well, so much for hiding her enthusiasm. Elsa was basically bouncing up and down, but Jack still didn't seem to understand. He scratched his head.

"You can't really learn how to… I mean, nobody taught _me_. You just feel it."

Elsa's grin faded. She looked down at her boots, eyes darting over to his impossible feet. His words seemed to ring in her ears a few times, and she tried to imagine herself in isolation practicing magic—of course, she would have to be alone since she could end up hurting someone. But she couldn't see it. She couldn't see her father allowing it; what if someone saw? Elsa was too young to defend herself, even with powers. She shouldn't have left home today. She started to feel a little sick.

"My dad—" Elsa started to say.

"I can try to help you, if you're worried about your dad," Jack interrupted. Though he couldn't promise this: with spring approaching, he would be hurt by the heat. Jack loved the winter for a good reason.

"I meant to say that my dad will worry about me," Elsa finished dryly. "I need to go home. I shouldn't have come here…"

"You were curious," said Jack. "It's okay."

Elsa stopped walking, and Jack stopped as well. She looked over her shoulder. "I have to go back now."

"But what about me?"

"Come with me! Papa will want to meet you."

Jack realized with a sickening little jolt that he had not mentioned that she was the only person who had ever seen him. People in the town, let alone her father, would not be able to see him or talk to him. Jack laughed nervously and stabbed his staff into the ground, leaning back on it.

"I don't think that will work, Elsa," he began.

"Why not?"

Jack found it hard to form the words. Apparently, he wasn't very good at talking to people. "There's just a… small… problem…"

"He's the king," Elsa remarked.

"The king?" Jack asked, surprised. He strained his neck to look at the kingdom beyond the trees, and the castle struck him as grand and beautiful and so this king couldn't be so terrible, could he?

"Yes."

"That means you're a pr—"

"A princess."

Jack looked down at the little girl, impressed. She didn't strike him as a princess—but what did that even mean, anyway? He inclined his head to her and smiled a little. "Well then, Future Queen. There's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I can't go home with you."

"_Why_?"

"Elsa… I'm not exactly… a _typical_ person."

She giggled. "You control ice. Like me. Who ever think I'd meet a stranger just like me?"

"No," Jack insisted. "No one can see me. I'm—I'm invisible, Elsa, and no one—except for you—has ever spoken to me and I can't meet your father because he won't see me."

Elsa's laughter subsided. She looked at Jack dubiously, a little frown on her face. "What do you… what do you mean? Are—are you _imaginary_? Did I make you up?"

Jack could see that she was becoming distressed, which was the last thing he needed right now. She had to go home, and her parents had to be reassured of her safety. That was the priority. Strange… Jack had never had _priorities_ before. He always just had fun.

"No!" he half-shouted. "No, you didn't make me up, Elsa, I swear. I'm older than you and I've lived a good life so far, so please don't think that you… no. I was born forty-three years ago and—"

"You're _forty-three_!"

Jack smiled slightly. "Yes. I don't age. I don't know why. People can't see me, or hear me, and even though they see the snow I create, they don't know it was me."

Elsa's confused expression was endearingly cute. It took her a few more seconds to process what Jack was telling her, and when she understood more fully, she opened her mouth to say something, but could find no words.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. "I just can't talk to your father."

"M-maybe Papa is different," Elsa suggested. "Maybe _he_ will—"

"I don't think so," he broke in. "Elsa, you're literally the only… _only_ person. In more than forty years." His voice was soft, quiet, and shivered through her like the wind.

Papa wasn't even forty years old. Elsa stared at Jack like he was a strange animal. She broke eye contact only to throw a worried glance toward the castle. The sun was climbing ever so slowly into the sky, and she imagined the staff panicking and looking all over the castle for her. Mama and Papa would be especially worried, since it had snowed last night…

"Jack," she said sadly. "I need to go home. M-Mama and Papa will be worried…"

He stared at the upset little princess, the only one who had ever paid attention to him, and for a moment Jack wondered if _he_ had invented _her_. Elsa expressed fear about making Jack up, but what if it was the other way around? What if he became so lonely that he needed to create a friend who shared powers with him?

No, no, that was ridiculous, and upon seeing little tears welling up in Elsa's large blue eyes, Jack realized that he was being selfish. He was being selfish and cruel and she needed to get home now, dammit!

"Come on," he said, and offered his arm. She hesitantly touched him and was glad to see that his hand was just as cold as everything else she put her hands on. Jack relished the feeling of another person's touch, the gentle caress of a little girl. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. "No," he continued. "We're doing this my way."

And before she figured out what 'my way' was, he had tightened his grip, pulled his staff out of the ground, and jumped fifty feet into the air. Elsa screamed and clutched onto him tightly, eyes squeezed shut, and her heartbeat accelerated tremendously. Jack only laughed and flew up higher. Elsa held onto him for dear life, squealing like a pig.

"I'm scared, Jack!" she yelled, and he realized this a little too late. He gently descended a few feet and pulled her closer, taking care to wrap her legs around his body and keep a firm grip on her back. The air was frigidly delightful, so he whispered a few nice things to her about how it was perfectly safe, and that she would be fine.

Elsa dared to open her eyes and Jack could see that she was crying. He didn't know if it was from before, or if she was just so excited, or maybe if she was extremely terrified. Maybe it was all of that. But Jack gestured to the view as they slowly glided toward the canoe on the lake. Elsa looked down at the doll-like kingdom and Jack waited rather impatiently for a happy reaction. She just stared dumbly.

"What do you think?" he asked a little loudly, to speak over the roaring wind.

"It's beautiful," she answered equally as loud.

Not much else was said on the matter. Jack was disappointed, but he liked the way Elsa watched the castle and little houses and roads, her face showing obvious signs of amazement. He took them down, down, down, and landed lightly next to the water.

"Are you sure you can't come?" Elsa asked quietly, now that the wind had stopped. Jack nodded.

"I'll come back and visit. How about—well, it's nearly spring. After summer, and after autumn. I'll come back and we can practice your magic. How does that sound?"

Elsa's smiled widened, and Jack's heart broke at the sight of it. He took her tiny hand in both his and patted it. "We'll meet again, Elsa, promise. And if you need anything, I'll be here until the snow melts."

Elsa hugged Jack and whispered a quick thank you. After she got into the canoe, Jack helped her paddle to the other side using the wind as his tool. He waved goodbye as she was sailing farther and farther away, but she didn't see. Elsa got to the other side quickly and put her hood up to hide her face. When she looked back at the opposite shore, over the half-frozen lake and past the small fog of white that clouded her view, she squinted. But Jack Frost was gone.

Elsa got on her horse, said goodbye to the ferryman, and rode back to the castle gates, though she had to avoid a larger throng of people this time as the day was getting busier. She put Markus back in his stable and scratched behind his ear before running inside, into the welcome heat. What she found was not a chaotic panic, but rather a somewhat worried search through the halls for the princess.

"Papa," Elsa called, running into his study. The king was pouring over large stacks of documents and she hurried up to stand tall in front of his desk. He stood up and embraced her, only one of many, many hugs she would be receiving for the rest of her life.

However, Jack Frost would not be hugged for many, many years. Elsa waited until winter patiently, but Jack did not reappear like he had promised. And then the next winter came and went, and nothing. By the time Elsa was thirteen, she thought to herself that maybe, just maybe, Jack Frost was an imaginary friend. And when she was fifteen, she was certain of it. After that, whenever winter came she glanced into the mountains across the lake, but quickly shut the curtains and sat back down to study proper etiquette and manners. As princess, her duties were becoming more and more pronounced.

Soon, Elsa didn't think about Jack any more. He was a long lost memory, just as she was to him. Jack did not really mean to forget, but that was his nature. He could not help but fail to remember many, many things. Even though she had been a significant milestone in his road to self-discovery, Jack deemed Elsa as an imaginary friend too. But sometimes he liked to think that somewhere out there, there was a stranger like him.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

a/n: Wow. An uncomfortably long and awkward chapter. Thanks for sticking around so long, and it'd be great if you reviewed. Hopefully, my writing can only get better!


End file.
